Wednesday, February 22, 2012

New Releases 02.21.12: Damien Jurado, Sleigh Bells, Archers of Loaf

Another week in the shortest month sees plenty of fine releases fall into our laps. From Damien Jurado's magnum opus to the sophomore release from the sugared razor blades of Sleigh Bells, it's not a bad week at all. There's also new releases from Lambchop, Grimes, Frankie Rose, Tindersticks, Perfume Genius, Cursive, Leland Sundries and a Deluxe Master reissue of 1995's great Vee Vee from the so-far-still-reunited Archers of Loaf.

After fifteen years of releasing folk in the (now) folk-heavy Pacific Northwest, Damien Jurado has experienced a rebirth of sorts, and like it is for many artists at the mature stage of their career, a lot of this second life is due to finding the right producer/collaborator/muse. In that, Jurado found Richard Swift, who helmed his magical 2010 release Saint Bartlett. They pair up again for the follow up, Maraqopa, expanding on the slight studio experimentation of Saint Bartlett. While the previous release had the benefit of surprise, Maraqopa raises the stakes, with Jurado and Swift now in lock step at the height of their talents. Just so there's no mistaking it, they open with psych-burner "Nothing is the News," effortlessly building guitars, keys and reverb-thick background vocals until you awake to find Commander Flashback from across the street has broken into your house and is trying to climb inside your computer speakers (your experience will vary, obviously, depending on your neighborhood). The next track, "Life Away From The Garden," brings with it the spectre of Christianity, a common theme of Jurado's throughout his career. The singer-songwriter confesses being influenced this time out from the Crescere free mix The End is Near: Jesus Music, Vol 1 & 2, and while religion does indeed permeate throughout, it's merely a launching point here for Jurado's confident songwriting. "Working Titles," another highlight, sees Jurado employing a Leonard Cohen trick of inventing another self to make pointed observations on his true self. "What's it like for you, in Washington?" his invented self asks of Jurado, moving from accusations and demands to a mild form of jealousy. Where Jurado in the past might have pointed out things aren't that great, he doesn't even need to answer to show that things are indeed pretty good where he's standing. While it's not an easy achievement to get Jurado to crack a smile, Maraqapo stands to suffice, as it induces plenty in it's nearly 37 minutes.

When Sleigh Bell's debut Treats snuck up on listeners in 2010, the slash-and-dash nature of it's red-line production made it an album less about songs then the sound engineering of the thing. With their sophomore release, there's still the necessity to "crank it," but Reign of Terror is far more reliant on songcraft, for better and worse. It might have been easier to churn out a Treats II, but gone is the debut's element of surprise, and so guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss went about the business of rebuilding their sound. Don't get me wrong, nobody but Sleigh Bells could have created Reign, and that's a good thing. It's still pointy guitar metal, girl group vocals, cheerleader call and response backed by hip-hop inspired beats -- a niche they pretty much own. But it was evident on the first tracks released, "Born to Lose" and "Comeback Kid" -- predictably the album's highlights, that Krauss' pop sensibilities were moving to the forefront with Reign. While the results never quite reach the dizzying heights of their debut, that was going to be a tall order, and Reign is instead content to get you to turn it up and bang your head.